Lady of the Knight
by The Kushinada
Summary: Gundam Wing in the Dark ages! ^_^ Trowa/Relena fic ^_^ yes you read it right Trowa/ Relena. ^_~ Trowa is a dark lord, and Relena is a rich lady being forced to marry. I UPDATED finally!!! ^_^ R/R enjoy
1. Prologue

Prologue 

Relena felt like a Christmas gift. 

Or maybe a goose, all trussed up and waiting to be devoured by the hungry knights who milled about below like a pack of surly wolfs. They were all full of wine and ale and food and eager for a prize. One would think the wedding day was already upon them, the way the men feasted here at Treize's court. 

Frowning in disgust at her thoughts, Relena saw her ward approach her and turned away. Unwilling to have Alyce see her unhappiness, and her powerlessness. 

But Alyce must have sensed Relena feelings. "Are you all right my lady?" 

"All right?" She asked. "All right?" Relena's normally calming voice harsh with anger. "I feel like a tournament prize. All wrapped up--" she said with a wave of her hand over her fine new dress and ermine-lined cape "--and ready to be bestowed." 

"Please Lady Relena." Alyce whispered, her tone urging caution. "If King Treize should happen to hear you." 

Relena looked sadly at Alyce. Poor thing. Relena thought. She was so afraid of her half brother, Treize. "I'm sorry Alyce. But I have kept my Father lands safe and sound for two month since his death, yet instead of receiving a reward for my efforts, it seems I am to become a reward given to money-grubbing foul-smelling wretch, simply because that I'm a woman and have to be kept safe." Relena said with a sneer. 

"Well, my lady. At least you can choose your husband. Some women don't get to have that Honor." 

"Ha." Relena scoffed. "That honor come to me only because I had money to pay for the privilege. You think the king gave me that honor because his love for me?" 

"My lady please." Alyce warned again. 

"Well." Relena said with a smile. "I have a plan on how to get out of this mess. And come out unmarried." 

"How?" 

"I'm going to choose someone the king will never let me marry." 

"Who?" 

"The Red Knight." Relena said with a smile 

Alyce's mouth dropped open and she stepped back a pace in horror. "Oh, heaven help us." She whispered. "Lady Relena, please, reconsider." 

Relena smiled, this time more sweetly "Oh, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. The king told me that I must select one of his knights, did he not?" Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "he said any of his knights. That includes all in his realm, does it not?" 

"My lady"... Alyce tried to say 

"So I have made up my mind." 

"My brother isn't going to like this." 

"Well too bad, he give me a choice and I choose Trowa Barton." 

***** 

Later, Relena didn't feel so confident. But Relena squared her shoulders as she stepped into the hall, empty now, but for King Treize and his Queen Une, and a few of his retainers. The king had the grace to give her a private audience, but Relena wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse. He was more intimidating in private, but Relena would not let herself think of defeat. This just had to work. 

"Good day, Relena" Treize said. "So nice to see you again." 

"You too, my king." Relena said with a curtsy. "Thank you for the audience." She looked at king Treize. She could see why some of the woman at court thought he was a handsome man. He was tall and long legged, with golden brown hair and bright blues eyes, and he was still young. Relena didn't think he was that handsome, but that was just her. 

"I hope you have spent your time well, looking for your new Husband among my knights here, Lady Relena." 

"My lord did not limit my choices to those at court," she said as calmly as she could. "I may take any knight of yours to have as my husband, may I not?" 

Treize and Une, surprised, nodded yes. 

"Than I have chosen as my new husband, Trowa Barton of DarkCastle." 

The room exploded in commotion, the knights in the room gasped, shocked that a woman would willingly take the Red Knight to wed. "The Red Knight?....." Relena heard them say. ".....a sorcerer..... A follower of the devil?..." Relena had heard the Red Knight's legend before, it never frighten her though, till now. For some reason it sent shivers up her spine. Everyone look at her in horror. Everyone that is, except the King and his Queen. The King's face showed anger, the Queen's showed nothing. Relena tried not to smile, thinking she had won and would be going home soon. The King jump up and was about to speak, but was stopped by Queen Une, who stood up and whispered in his ear. 

Maybe the queen will tell the king to have me go home. Relena thought happily. 

But then the king turned and said the most horrible thing Relena had heard in her life. "All right." 

"I'm sorry, My Lord?" Relena said, too surprised to say anything else 

The King smiled at her shock. "I Said: All right, Lady Relena. I will admit, I expected you to choose one of the barons you met here, or Christopher Anderson he has been asking me for your hand in marriage for some time now. But as you pointed out so succinctly, I did say all of my knights." He said with a laugh. "You have made an unusual choice, one that I would not have made for you. But I see no reason to deny you your heart's desire." He said with a smile "I think you will make a good mate for Barton. A bright angel for a dark devil. Our Red Knight, maybe you will tame him, ha? What do you think my love?" The king said to his Queen . 

"I think she and Lord Trowa will make a lovely pair." The Queen said with a smug smile. 

"Well than," the King said with a clap of his hands. "I bid you good journey. You may leave on the morrow, and you will be at DarkCastle in a week." He nodded in curt dismissal. Relena stared, aghast. It didn't work. I'm going to be married she thought. She recovered enough to curtsy, mutter her thanks and leave quietly, unable to believe it. She was to marry a man she knew nothing about, except by dark rumors. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

  
Relena was in the middle of packing then Alyce walked into their room. Seeing Relena packing, Alyce smiled and started to pack her own things. 

"Oh, my lady, it worked! We're going home?" 

Relena didn't ever bother to turn around, but folded a gown onto her chest. "We are leaving in the morning...... For DarkCastle." 

Alyce dropped the gown she was folding with a wail. "No, Lady Relena, why? I though you knew what you were doing?" 

"I thought I knew what I was doing, too." Relena snapped. She picked up the dress that Alyce had dropped and handed it to her. "Now we need to pack." 

"My lady, why? Why did you pick the Red Knight? You could have picked anyone from the kingdom, someone rich and handsome. But no, you picked the Red Knight." Alyce said with a groan. "What was wrong with Christopher Anderson? He is rich and handsome, and he does not worship the devil!" Alyce cried the last part and buried her face in the gown she was holding. 

"Stop that!" Relena yelled "I would marry the devil himself before I'd marry that boorish, self-centered, rude, ignorant, JERK." Relena said shivering at the thought of Lord Anderson. Oh he was handsome all right, and he knew it too. He was young, tall, and had so dark a brown of hair it was almost black. And he had beautiful, dark green eyes. But it was his eyes that made Relena shiver, they were cold and unfeeling eyes. They were eyes that made you know that if he were your enemy, he would show no mercy.'Lord,' Relena though, 'thank you that I'm not marrying that monster.' 

Lord Anderson had the neighboring lands of Relena's precious Peacecraft Castle and he would do anything to get his hands on her land. That money-grubbing monster. Once he heard that her brothers, Milliard and Heero were dead, he jump at the chance of having Peacecraft Castle for himself. 

Alyce's wailing awakened Relena from her thoughts. "Lady Relena, why would you choose such a devil when you had your pick of handsome men to choose from." 

Whoever she picked, Relena thought. handsome or ugly. One man was as good as another. They would all be masters_,_ And that was a notion she could not accept. Never in her life had she suffered a master. Her father and brothers had left her to her own devices. She never had been forced to do anther's bidding and she was not about to start now, she thought, as she put another dress into her chest. 

"But you chose the Red Knight." Alyce gasped, crossing herself. "He's evil. 'Tis said that he never leaves his castle. That he calls witches, sorcerers and warlocks to come to him and teach him their dark secrets, and then casts them out as he practices what he has learned. That's why they call him Red Knight, because he's in leagues with the devil himself." Alyce cried hysterically, crossing herself over and over again. 

"Alyce, please, that ti's but a rumor. I'm sure he's not in leagues with the devil."  
"Oh no." Alyce cried, she drop the gown she still hadn't packed and grabbed on to Relena's arm, holding on for dear life. "My Lady, I heard he eats human flesh. What are we going to do? He's going to eat us!" Alyce cried all the harder. 

Relena rolled her eyes. "Stop this." Relena snapped. Alyce stopped crying. "Rumors! What nonsense," she scoffed. "All the great warriors have nurtured legends about themselves so as to strike fear into the hearts of their foes." Relena said. "This Red Knight ti's but a mortal man. You will see." She patted Alyce's head and bid her sit down upon a stool while she turned back to her packing. "Besides, we will not be at DarkCastle long enough to be eaten by that Knight." Relena said with a smile. 

Alyce's head shot up. "What? Why?"  
"I have another plan." Said Relena with a bigger smile. "One that will have us be gone of there and be at Peacecraft castle before Christmas." 

Alyce just groaned. 

***** 

Well, this has been a fun trip, Relena thought sarcastically. The king's man had no liking for her, that was plain. And told her right to her face that he considered this as an insult to his rank and name. Everyday he drove the wedding party harder, as though they were off to battle and not traveling to her future husband's holding. 

Alyce complained the whole time that she was sore, tired and hungry. But Relena said nothing. She just sat in the saddle, straight and tall, staring straight ahead. She didn't mind, the sooner they got to DarkCastle the sooner she would be back at Peacecraft Castle. But she did feel sorry for Alyce though. Alyce didn't like men very much, because of what her father, King Dekin did to her. And here she was surrounded by man. Relena didn't want to think about what Dekin had done to Alyce. If the man wasn't dead already, she would have killed him a long time ago. 

Relena woke up from her thoughts by a rider galloping towards them. He rode up to the King's man, Rashid Kurama. 

"Ti's just ahead My Lord." The rider said 

Relena gave a sigh of relief and Alyce gave a groan of despair. 

"Don't worry, Alyce. We can sleep in a bed and have someone else's face to look at, other then that stone face of Rashid Kurama." 

Upon their arrival, however, Relena didn't feel any better and nether did Alyce. 

The countryside was forbidding, for around them stretched seemingly endless, flat land. Nothing was planted in the fields, while a great forest marched like a menacing presence beside them. It was nearly nightfall when she first set eyes upon the Red Knight's castle. Despite all her brave words and determination that she wouldn't be afraid, she shivered at the sight. 

The sun was setting, casting deep shadows across the walls. The keep was old and gloomy with its arrow slits black as narrow eyes. Hugging the ground, a gray mist seemed to grow out of nowhere. It looked like the keep had not been up kept in years and not one torch was lit in the whole house. 

This cannot be the castle. Relena thought. We had to have made a mistake. No, it's not a mistake. Maybe the Red Knight was as dark as the Rumors said he was. Maybe he could call the mist to hide his house from unwanted guests. 

Alyce's whimper of fear brought Relena out of her thoughts. Relena looked around and saw the other knights crossing themselves and praying. Disgusted, Relena move forward up to the priest, who was praying his heart out. King Treize had had a priest accompany them in case the Red Knight didn't have one. "Father?" Relena said to the priest. The priest jumped high in the air. 

"Sorry, but don't you think we should be going in?" 

"Going in?" The priest asked. "In there?" 

Just then, Rashid rode over to the gates and pulled out his sword. Using the sword hilt, he knocked on the gates. The party waited. And waited, and waited, with every ten minutes Rashid knocking on the gates. After an hour of this, a light was lit in one of the guard towers, and a man appeared. Relena couldn't tell what he looked like, all Relena saw was a shadow. 

"What do you want?" The man yelled. 

Well, he is rude. Relena thought. 

"We seek an audience with your lord," Rashid Yelled up to the man. 

"Well, my lord is not taking audiences," the man yelled down. 

By this time, Relena was mad. She was tired and wanted a warm bed to sleep in this night. So she rode her horse closer to the castle. "We need to talk to your lord. So if you would be so kind as to open the gates and let us in." Relena said politely. 

"Sorry, My Lady." The man yelled down. "But no one enters after hours, and the castle is closed for the night. So if you want to talk to my lord, you will have to camp for the night and talk to him in the morn." 

"But 'tis imported." Relena yelled, trying anyway to find a way in. 

"Did you make an appointment?" The man asked. 

"Well, no. But I don't see...." 

"Is someone my lord knows, dead?" 

"No. Look here, I'm really not..." 

"Then it's not that important, and you can wait till the morrow." 

"Why won't you open the gates?" Relena yelled desperately. 

"Because then we open the gates at this time, the wolves from the woods get in. Some of them are big enough to kill a man, and we don't like that. So we open the gates for no men OR women. After hours." The guard said firmly. 

Relena wasn't amused with the guard's made up story of wolves. Relena knew it was just a story. But Alyce didn't on the other hand. At the mention of the word wolves, Alyce gave a cry of despair. Relena turned to see her ward whimpering looking over her shoulder and saying wolves over and over again. Relena turned back to glare at the man. On the morrow, she'd show that guard that the wolf story wasn't funny. 

"Goodnight, my lady." The guard said. Then he was gone and so was the light. The castle was pitch black again. 

"Men! Move it, we make camp." Rashid Yelled. "My lady." Rashid growled with a mock bow. He turned and left. 

"My lady," Alyce cried. "Do we have to stay out here?" 

Relena put a friendly arm around Alyce. "It's okay Alyce. We'll sleep out here and in the morning, we will talk to the Red Knight. Then, we'll get to go home." 

"But what about the wolves?" Alyce looked up from under Relena's arm with tears in her eyes.  
"There are no wolves, the guard just wanted to scare us." 

Just then, a wolf howled in the distance. 

This is going to be a long night Relena thought. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
'I'll make him pay.' Relena thought angrily. The way the Red Knight had been so rude, having her sleep outside, of all places, not letting her in. It just made her so mad. She didn't get one wink of sleep all night. It was cold, and they couldn't light a fire for it would attract the wolves' attention. The only good thing about last night was that Relena had a tent, though she had to share it with Alyce. Every time a wolf howled Alyce would throw her arms around Relena and squeeze so tight that Relena couldn't breathe. The knights in her escort snored, and in the middle of the night it started to rain. So Relena stayed up the whole night, listening to the rain and wolves. And if that wasn't bad enough. In the morning she fell into a mud puddle that was made right in front of her tent, from the rain the night before. So she sat in the puddle thinking of ways to repay the Red Knight's hospitality. 'Oh yes,' Relena thought again, 'I'll make him pay.' 

After she cleaned up and dressed in a new gown, the wedding party rode through the now open gates. Relena was one of the first ones to ride in, much to Rashid's disapproval. But Relena didn't really much care what Rashid liked or disliked right now, she was a woman in a bad mood and she was going to tell that high and mighty Red Knight just what she thought of him. But as Relena looked around her, some of her anger went away, replaced by shock. Accustomed to the busy working of her home, Relena was surprised to find the bailey nearly deserted. The castle was as empty as it looked from the outside. 

Relena refused to look at Alyce, knowing what she would see. She would find Alyce with eyes shut, tears falling, white knuckled from holding the reins to tightly, and praying her heart out. Although Relena scorned the Red Knight's dark legend as nothing but nonsense and tall tales, as the gates closed behind them and Relena took a really good look around her, she wasn't so sure that they were all nonsense. The place gave her the shivers. 

The doors to the grand hall opened and a man walked through. The man was about middle height with black hair, dressed all in black. 'Well,' Relena thought, 'the outfit doesn't help cheer up the place.' 

"What do you want?" The man asked. 

'That voice,' Relena thought, 'it! sounds familiar...' 

Rashid rode up and announced them. "I am Sir Rashid Kurama, and this is Lady Relena Peacecraft. We were sent from the king. I have to talk to your Lord at once." 

"My name is Sir Chang Wufei." The man said. There was a wave of gasps and whispers over the man's name. Relena thought she heard something about a Dragon Knight. "You are welcome to stay in the grand hall, while I tell my Lord who wants an audience with him." 

Then Relena knew where she heard that voice. He was the guard from the night before. When her business was done with the Red Night, she was going to show that man that no one makes Relena Pacecraft sleep outside. 

As the wedding party entered the grand hall Relena felt another shiver run through her. Two candles were lit on the long table, casting the whole room in shadows. The walls were black from years of smoke from the fireplace, and tapestries covered the windows so no light could shine through. Again Relena thought that maybe the Red Knight was as bad as his rumors said he was. Then Relena heard a thud, and she turned to find that Alyce had fainted dead away.  
  
*****  
  
When Relena walked into the Red Knight's Room, Wufei closed the door behind her. Relena felt a shiver run down her back. The room was pitch black. Not one candle was lit and just like in the great hall, the windows were covered to shut out the sunlight. 

"Well, My Lady." A voice said. "I have read the edict you bring me from the king." There was a long pause before the man spoke again. "Why don't you sit, so we can talk about this." 

'Is this the Red Knight?' Relena thought. 'He doesn't sound so bad. He has a nice, calm voice. Maybe he would think this was a bad idea too, and just tell the king that there will not be a wedding.' But still, that didn't make Relena any less angry, she had waited hours to have an audience with this man, not to mention the long, sleepless night. As Relena stumbled towards the voice she wondered again why they was no candles lit. Then she heard a growl. 'Was that from the man?' Relena asked herself. Then there was a loud bark. 'Now that didn't come from the man,' Relena thought. 'Did it?' 

"Killer, Satan," the man said, "down!" 

'Killer? Satan? What kind of names are those?? Maybe this isn't going to go the way I wanted it to...' Relena thought as she banged her toe on the foot of the table. "Well my Lord." Relena said as she found a chair and sat down. "I am glad. For we waited so long that I began to think no one in your castle could read it." His head snapped up at her insult, Relena sensed rather then saw his eyes burning into her. But Relena was beyond caring what the Red Knight thought, she just wanted to get out of there. "If you do not wish to comply, then tell us so, that we may depart. I have a long journey ahead of me, and many MORE nights to spend out in the cold before reaching my own castle." 

Silence met her speech, and Relena thought what maybe he'd send her away now for insulting him and his household. 

"My Lady...." Trowa paused as if he could not remember her name, Relena gripped the arms of her chair, gritting her teeth at the insult. "Lady Peacecaft," he said. "I'm a little confused. You were bidden to select any knight in the land to wed and you chose me." He spoke in a dry tone that indicated he could see right through her ruse. "Why?" He asked. 

Relena was shocked by the direct question. She had expected Trowa Barton to just send her away, maybe with a rude scolding, but not ask bold questions. By now her eyes had grown used to the darkness, and she could barely see. 

When she hesitated, he called for Wufei. The door opened, not letting any light in. 

"Yes, Sir." Wufei said. 

"Bring Sir Rashid in here." 

"Yes, Sir." Wufei left, closing the door again. 

"So, Lady Peacecaft, how old are you?" Trowa asked. 

Surprised, Relena answered without thinking. "Eighteen." 

"So I'm marrying an old maid." 

Angry, Relena stood up and was about to shout how rude he was. Then the door opened and Rashid walked in. 

"Sit down, my lady." Trowa said calmly. "Sir Rashid," Trowa said as Relena sat down. "Is lady Relena such a shrew that no one at court would have her?" 

Relena drew in her breath, her cheeks flaming, while Rashid choked back a laugh. "She is known to be willful, My Lord, but many a man would gladly marry her." Rashid answered. 

"Yes, for she has great wealth, does she not?" Trowa said softly. 

'How dare him!' Relena thought, 'to say that only my holdings make me attractive as a wife?' She bit her lip to keep from shouting to the beast across the table. 

"Think you that she is comely?" Trowa asked suddenly. 

Relena blushed as Rashid turned to her, his eyes sweeping over her. "Yes, my lord. Her figure is well shaped, but a little on the thin side, her hair is a light brown ... No it's blond, and her eyes..... Her eyes are a light blue. She's short. Her looks would turn any man's head. But she has a temper that would turn them all away. She's impatient, willful, and she's on the bratty side too." Rashid seemed to catch himself, and he quickly turned back to the Red Knight. "But Lady Relena's beauty is well known," he concluded. 

Relena was very surprised with what Rashid said. 'How dare he call me a brat....' 

"With her temper, I would assume." Trowa said wryly. 

Rashid had the grace not to answer, but Relena knew he was smiling. Relena clenched her fists, angry that they were discussing her like a prized goose about to be roasted for their feast. 

"And so, My Lady, you picked me..." Trowa said slowly, in a threatening way that made Relena shiver, despite her anger. "Perhaps the fine gentlemen at court were too weak for your taste and you thought the Red Knight was suitable to the task of taming you?" 

Rashid chuckled and Relena stiffened. "No man or beast is going to tame me! And I can see now the error in my way of choosing you, my Lord," she spat mockingly, "it was a mistake!" 

"Yes, it was a mistake. A mistake you made and have to live with." Trowa turned to Rashid, "Tell the preacher to get ready. We wed on the hour." 

"Wait," Relena cried. "Please, My Lord, may we talk alone?" 

"Yes." 

Relena turned to Rashid and said in a low murmur, "you may return to the hall." 

Rashid nodded and left without delay, happy that his job was almost done. As Rashid walked out the door, Relena stood up and started to walk towards the Red Knight. One of the dogs growled low in its throat. "Stay back, my lady." Trowa said. Confused, Relena stopped, then took one more step. The dogs growled again, louder now and more deep in their throats. "If you want to die, then take another step. If you don't, then stay!" Trowa said angrily. He pointed back to the chair she was in before. "Sit," he added more gently. 

Relena want back to the chair and sat, like an obedient child. 

"My Lord, I assure you, this is all a mistake." She began, her hands bunched tightly into fists in the folds of her gown. 

"Yes, it is." Trowa said with no emotion in his voice. "And you made it. Think you, I would simply defy the king's order?" 

When Relena didn't answer, Trowa laughed bitterly. "So you did." 

"Your reputation is great, my lord." Relena said softly. 

"I see. Perhaps you thought that with a wave of my hand I could make the edict disappear, like a sorcerer?" Relena didn't say anything. She could swear she saw the flash of white teeth. He continued, "Well, my willful Lady Peacecraft, your plan has gone wrong. For no matter what you might think of me, I do not defy my king. I owe King Treize much, and if this be his wish, then I will obey. Now," Trowa said, voice rising, "you made your bed now sleep in it." Relena gaped at the man's comment on beds. "Wufei!" Trowa yelled. The door opened again. 'Does he just stay out there all day?' Relena thought. 

"Take Lady Peacecraft to her room. We will wed on the hour." 

Relena stormed out of the room.  
  
*****  
  
As Relena sat staring at the mirror in her room, Alice was pacing, making a hole in the floor. "So it's going to happen?" Alice asked with tears in her eyes. 

"Yes, it is. The Red Knight wouldn't listen to me." Relena said without emotion. 

"So this is our new home?" Alice asked with a tear falling down her face. 

"Not if I have anything to do with it. I can't stop this wedding but I will not live in this dark place. If it takes the last breath in my body, we will get out of this!" 

"Oh, Lady Relena, really?" Alice asked with hands clasped in front of her, with an admiring look in her eyes. 

"Yes. Now get me ready for this devil's wedding, before someone comes to get us."  
  
*****  
  
When Wufei did knock on the door, Relena was all dressed and ready to go. She was dressed in her Mother's old wedding gown. She wasn't going to bring the lovely gown but Alyce had gone behind Relena's back and brought it with them. While Alyce opened the door, Relena looked at herself one more time in the mirror. Her Mother's old grown fit perfectly on her. It was a white dress with a white bodice. The bodice had gold roses embroidered in it, and gold trim around the bodice and dress. Alyce had put Relena's hair up with gold ribbon twisted in it.  
"It's time to go." Wufei said, nodding at Relena. 

She walked down the hallway, with Wufei on one side of her holding a candle to show the way, and Alyce on the other side gripping Relena's arm. When they walked in to the Great Hall, the king's knights took their time to look Relena over before standing up to bow to her. 

When Alyce let out a scream, she found herself with a hundred eyes on her, looking at her like she went mad. She pointed at a wall. When Relena looked, a man walked out of the shadows. He was wearing all black, just like Wufei. He was walking straight for them. He stopped a foot in front of Relena and bowed to her, and then to Alyce. 

"I'm sorry my lady, I didn't mean to scare you." He said to Alyce. Then he turned back to Relena. "Lady Relena Peacecraft," he said with another bow. "My name is Quatre Rababer Winner." 

There was a wave of whispers from the king's knights. This time, Relena heard some of what they said. "The Angel of Death." "Did you see? He can walk through walls." "This place is cursed." "O god help us its The Angel of Death." Relena looked at the man in front of her. She could see why they called him an Angel. He had blond hair and bright blue eyes, he was very handsome and he had a very friendly smile. But she didn't get the Death part. 'Was he a knight too? Did he kill for a living?' 

"I will be walking you down the aisle, if you don't mine." The handsome youth said. 

"Yes, that will be fine." Relena said, not taking her eyes off Quatre's face, still wondering about the nickname. 

"And what might your name be?" Quatre asked Alyce. 

Relena shook herself awake. "Her name is Alyce Benson, she is my ward." 

"'Tis a pleasure to meet you, my lady." Quatre took Alyce's hand, giving it a kiss. Alyce took her hand back, blushing all the time. 

Then there was the ring of church bells, but there was no happy sound to it, the bells sounded more made for the death ring at a funereal, than for a wedding. 

"It's time to go." Wufei said. "Follow me," he said to everyone in the room. 

"Wait," Relena said. "Where is the Red Knight?" 

"He is already in the church." Quatre said, taking her hand and leading her to the church. 

When they got there, Relena took a deep breath. The church was worse than the hall, for the church was bigger, and the shadows were far more. There were only two candles lit; one where the guests were to sit and another on the far right of the altar, so that half the altar was lit. The other half was dark. 

"Where's the Red Knight?" Relena asked Quatre. 

"He is over there, my Lady." Quatre said pointing to the dark side of the alter. 

'Why,' Relena thought, 'is he over there?' Then the music started to play. And with Quatre leading her, Relena walked down the aisle. 

As she walked, Relena wanted to run away, back to her castle. But she told herself; she is a Peacecraft, she will not run away. But as she stopped at the alter and The Red Knight gripped her hands, she had second thoughts. The priest was talking, but Relena didn't listen. The Red Knight said his vows, and then it was her turn. Relena said them quickly and quietly, just to get them over with. Then the Red Knight put a ring on her finger and the priest said, "you are Lord and Lady, you may kiss your Lady." 

'Kiss?' Relena thought, she forgot about the Kiss! Then the Red Knight's grip on her hand tightened. He pulled her into the dark and give her a very deep, very passionate kiss that made her weak in the knees. Then it was done. The Red Knight stepped back, saying there was a big feast in the hall. Then he was gone. 

Stunned, Relena just stood there. She put her fingertips to her lips. He had kissed her, and she liked it! Only three men had kissed her in her life: a stable boy, Christopher Anderson, and now the Red Knight... her husband... 'O my god,' Relena thought, She was married now! She married the Red Knight! 'Lord help me...' 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Relena sat in front of the mirror in her room brushing her hair thinking of the day's events. 

The "Feast" the Red Knight had mentioned, was just bread and cheese with some soup and wine. The cheese was stale, the bread was dry, the soup had no flavor, and the wine didn't taste all that good either, too watered down. It was more of an insult then a feast.   


'One of the first things I do tomorrow,' Relena thought, 'Is find that cook and make him eat his own cooking. Then teach the cook what real food should taste like.'   


The biggest insult was that The Red Knight hadn't shown up at all for dinner.   


'The nerve of him! Forcing me to marry him, then not even showing up for the party!' 

Relena was just so glad when the king's knights left afterwards. They had drunk way too much wine, and they were not very good company. Relena glanced over at Alyce and saw that she was happy that they were leaving too. Alyce hated men, especially drunken ones. But when Alyce realized that she was going to be staying here, she grabbed on to Relena's arm and squeezed. It didn't help that at that moment, Quatre showed up at their sides from out of nowhere, scaring them half to death.  


"I'm sorry, Ladies." Quatre had said. "I didn't mean to scare you again. Baron Barton told me to take you two to your rooms, if you don't mind."  


"Nay, that will be just fine." Relena said trying to pry Alyce's death grip off her arm.  


At the door to Relena's room, Alyce had asked if she needed any help dressing in her nightgown. Relena looked at her young ward and friend, saw the dark circles under her eyes, and saw how hard the trip had been on her.   


"No, I don't need any help tonight. You go to bed and get some sleep." Relena said this last part in a serious voice. Alyce was her only friend here, and she didn't want anything to happen to her. Relena watched as Alyce walked into her room, which was just two doors down from her own, and then Relena walked into hers. Upon entering the room she was greeted by her chests, which had been placed inside the door like a final reminder that she could not go home. Restlessly she fingered the heavy ring that Baron Barton had set upon her finger as she realized that she would have to live in this cold and forbidding keep. She felt like throwing herself upon the bed and weeping.   


And now here she was in what was now her room, staring at the mirror, wondering how she was going to sleep tonight.  


Relena put down the brush, looking at herself one more time. She was now married to the Red Knight, and she didn't even know what he looked like, she thought with much regret. Then she started to think of the kiss. She had never been kissed like that before. It wasn't her first kiss, but still, it was different from the rest. 

Her first kiss was from a stable boy on Christmas Eve, but that was just a peck on the cheek. The other was from Christopher Anderson, but it was a slimy, hard, demanding kiss. And she had pushed him away, kicking him where it would hurt the most. Needless to say, Christopher stayed away for some time after that. But this Red Knight's kiss was.... It didn't make her want to hit him.... It made her want more. Without even knowing it, Relena's hand moved up to her lips, to touch where he had kissed her.   


Then she realized what she was doing. She threw her hand down, hitting it on the table.   


"Damn that man." She said as she rubbed her hurt hand.  


There was a tap at the door.   


'Who would be knocking at the door at this hour?' Relena thought. Then it hit her: It was her wedding night. It never entered her mind till this moment. 'What am I going to do??' Relena thought frantically. What _could_ she do?   


"Enter" Relena said. She couldn't deny her husband, she could be killed for that, but she wasn't going to give in so early. If he wanted her, he had to fight for it.   


Relena was very surprised that when the door opened, Alyce was the one who ran through and into her arms.   


"Lady Relena! Lady Relena!" Alyce cried out. "There was something outside my window! I don't know what it was, but it was big, and black. I can't go back in there, I can't! ...I just can't!!" Alyce cried, making a big wet spot on Relena's nightgown.   


Relena rolled her eyes. "Alyce there's nothing there, I'm sure it was just your imagination."   


"Please my lady, can I sleep here? .....Just for tonight." Alyce asked the last when she thought her Mistress would say no.  


Relena took a big breath. What was she to do? There was no way that she was going to get Alyce back in to her own room, but Alyce couldn't be here if The Red Knight came to claim his bride.  


"You can sleep in the waiting room, there's a cot in there. Here, you can have one of my pillows and blankets."   


'What else could I do.' Relena thought.  


"Oh, thank you My Lady!" Alyce give Relena a big hug, grabbed a pillow and blanket from the bed and went in to the waiting room.  


'I wish I could be so happy.' Relena thought as she lay in bed, waiting.  
  
*****  
  
Relena lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't come. The Red Knight hadn't come. She had stayed up all night last night, worrying about him coming into her room and thinking that maybe one more kiss from him wouldn't be so bad, thinking of the way that his hand did feel so good on her hips, and how his kiss had been so soft and sweet and how he had a manly smell of ale and horses and how his chest felt so hard and strong, she just wanted one more kiss, then ... nothing. He just didn't show up. That was two nights that he made her stay up, she was going to make him pay.  


'Well, first things first.' She thought. 'I am going to have my breakfast, then I am going to clean the Great Hall and teach the cook how to cook.'   


Relena dressed and was about to look in on Alyce when there was a knock from the waiting room.  


"Come in."  


Alyce walked in "I'm alive, my lady." She said, trying at a brave smile, but Relena could see that she hadn't had much sleep. "Do you need any help with your hair?"  


"Yes, thank you." Relena said, pretending that nothing was wrong.  


"Lady Relena, what are we going to do today?"   


"We are going to have breakfast, then clean this junk pile of a castle and see what it looks like. Then I'm going to see if I can talk to the high and mighty Baron Barton and see if we can come up with a way for you and I to get out of here."  


Before Relena knew what was happening, Alyce threw her arms around Relena. "Please, my lady, don't get yourself killed or eaten."  


"Alyce." Relena took a big breath. "The Red Knight doesn't eat people, I'll be fine. Now get done with my hair so we can get some breakfast."  
  
*****  
  
And so it went that Relena and Alyce went down to have Breakfast. And it turned out that breakfast was just leftovers from the "wedding feast" the night before. Relena couldn't take it any more, she just had to go to the kitchens. So she picked up a torch and headed for the kitchens.   


Unfortunately she didn't know where the kitchens were and got lost. Relena found herself in a hallway with no way in or out except for the way she came or going through a door. She picked the door. She walked through and found herself outside. She looked around her. She had walked through a side entrance.  


As she looked she saw, nothing.  


Not one thing to tell her where she was.   


'Well, ' Relena thought. 'Before I get any more lost, I better just go back where I came from.'   


Relena turned back to the door and screamed. Right there, standing in the doorway, was Wufei.   


Relena put her hand over her heart. "Don't do that!" She snapped   


"Thinking of going anywhere?" Wufei said sarcastically.  


"I was trying to find the kitchens!"  


Much to Relena's anger, Wufei burst out laughing.   


"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" Relena said trying to stay calm.   


"You passed by the kitchens five times." Wufei said, still laughing.  


Relena's face was bright red. "Well, will you please STOP LAUGHING and show me where the kitchens are?"  


When Wufei showed her where the kitchens were, her face went red again. The kitchens were so close to the great hall, she had just gone through the wrong door.  


'How could I miss it?' Relena thought  


As Wufei held the door open for her, he had a smirk on his face. As Relena walked by Wufei, she said, "I want to talk to Baron Barton. Please tell him that." Relena walked by, in a sight dismissal. Relena smiled, feeling Wufei's eyes burning into her back. Relena knew that he wasn't a manservant, and that he really hated being treated like one.  


It made her feel better to get a little revenge.  
  
*****  
  
The day want on. Relena talked to the cook and found him to be a good cook, just with bad ingredients. So she told him a recipe where he didn't need a lot to make it, and would taste good too.  


When Relena returned to the great hall, she found Alyce sewing a gown that had been torn on the trip. When she heard Relena walk in, Alyce threw the gown on the floor and ran to her.   


"Oh, my lady, I was so worried! You were gone so long, I thought The Red Knight had gotten you!!" Alyce cried on Relena's shoulder.  


Relena wondered how much water a human body could hold, because surely Alyce had cried enough for three people.  


"Now stop that." Relena said, holding Alyce away from her. "I just lost my way 'tis all." Alyce stopped crying. "That's better. Let's see what we can get clean before lunch."  


By the time that lunch was ready, the tables and chairs were cleaned and waxed, the chimney was cleaned out so that not as much smoke would get in the room, and Relena had ordered more candles and torches to be brought to the hall, much to Wufei's disapproval.   


"That is not a good idea." Wufei had said.   


"And why is that?"  


"Candles cost a lot of money."  


"Well if my Lord husband is too poor to buy candles, then I'll pay for them."  


Wufei opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and marched out of the room.  


After lunch, Relena and Alyce started working on cleaning the walls. Quatre must have seen that they needed help, because he picked up a rag and helped.   


Just before dinner started, Wufei entered the room with an arm full of candles. Wufei, seeing Quatre working on the wall, frowned, then turned to Relena.  


"Here are the candles you wanted, and Lord Barton wants you to have dinner in his chambers tonight."  


"Well, finally. Alyce, I need your help getting ready."  


"I'll escort you to your room." Wufei said, taking the rag out of Quatre's hands and throwing it down. He picked up a lit candle and escorted Relena to her room.  
  
*****  


Relena stepped into the Red Knight's lair. This time the fire was lit to keep out the chill. Relena liked the room better when it was pitch black. Half the room was still black as a raven's wing, but now half of the room was red from the fireplace, with long, spooky shadows. Now she could barely make out a man's form in an armchair across a long table, but she didn't have trouble making out the two big dogs beside this man.  


'My God,' Relena thought, 'are those dogs or horses?'  


"Why don't you sit down, my lady Wife?" Trowa said with mocking in his voice.  


Relena, with fists clenched, walked to a chair and sat. Lord Trowa's big dogs growled at her as she did.   


"I see that you have talked to my cook and gave him some new recipes." Trowa said.  


"Aye, I have, I could not take the tasteless soup any more." Relena said, lifting her chin up.   


"I heard you have been cleaning the great hall."  


'Wufei.' Relena thought. 'Wufei probably told him everything. Did he tell him about me getting lost?'  


"Aye, I am." Was all Relena said.  


"I have also heard you had a little adventure today." Trowa said with a little laugh in his voice. Relena gritted her teeth. 'That Wufei.'  


"Aye, 'tis true." That was all Relena was going to say to his question.  


And much to Relena's aggravation she heard a laugh from The Red Knight. She'd show him to laugh at her.   


"My lord, you have to admit that the 'wedding feast' was an insult to our guests' and my own tongue. The bread, if you want to call it that, tasted like sand and pebbles, the soup had no flavor. _Then_ you don't even show up at the wedding celebration. 'Tis rude and insulting."  


"Wedding celebration? I saw no cause for it." Trowa said in a bitter tone.  


"I see..." Relena said, feeling liked she'd been slapped across the face. "Very well. Perhaps you will have greater cause for celebrating when you receive an accounting from Peacecraft castle. I have just made you a very wealthy man!"  


"I desire not your wealth!" Trowa said angrily.   


Relena stayed clam. "You do not? From the look of the keep, I would say money is just what you need." Calmly she took a bit of the food in front of her.   


"Perhaps I should remind you that it was you who came here uninvited, Lady Peacecraft." Trowa hissed. "It was you who forced me into a marriage, I did not seek nor want. Did you give any thought at all to your ... Victim?" Trowa hissed the last. "What if I was pledged to another? Did you even consider that? What if I care for someone?"  


Relena was taken aback and appalled. Marriages among noble families were usually business arrangements. There were tales of courtly romance, though Relena never believed in the tall tales. It had never entered her mind that The Red Knight would be one of those kind of men, that he would have devotion to a women.  


"Do you?" Relena asked.   


Trowa didn't say anything and the silence grow till she felt like screaming, although she had no idea why the answer was suddenly important to her.   


"No." He finally answered.  


"Why you!" Relena slammed her hands down on the table, angry that he would make her feel that way.  


"But what if I were?" Trowa interrupting what she was going to say. "You certainly did not give a thought to me, or to anyone else when concocting this little scheme of yours." He said with disgust in his voice.  


Relena couldn't believe her ears, he was twisting her plan all around. 

"Of course I did not think of you! The king was not supposed to say yes and then you were not supposed to marry me!" Relena yelled, feeling mad, hurt and confused.   


Trowa made a disbelieving snort. 

"And what does that mean?" Relena yelled again.  


"That means, you are what I thought you were when I first met you."  


"And that is?"  


"A spoiled brat." Trowa said simply.  


Relena just sat opened mouthed. "How dare you!" she said angrily.  


"I dare, my dear wife, for I am your husband. And you made me that."  


"As if you would let me forget that little fact." Relena then smiled thinking that this was her chance to tell him her plan, he made it very clear that he didn't want her as a wife. This was it.  


"There is a way you can get rid of me." She said.  


"And what way is that?" Trowa asked dryly. "For if there is I would like to hear it..." 

"A marriage can be voided when it is against the will of one of the parties of that marry." Relena said simply. "Therefore, we have only to write to the Pope, and wait a sufficient time for the marriage to be dissolved."  


"Dissolved?" Trowa said stiffly. "And may I ask, on what grounds?" 

"On the grounds that one of the parties was forced to marry against their will." Relena said, proud of herself. "So, My Lord, what do you think of my plan?"  


"You're serious?" Trowa said with surprise in his voice.  


"Of course I'm serious, it's the perfect plan. You and I can go our own separate ways in the end."  


"I was wrong about you, My Lady. You're not a brat, you're mad!" Trowa yelled standing up. Then sitting down, he tried to calm himself.  


"Let me get this straight. You were told by the king to choose a husband, so you pick me, then you come here, marry me. THEN you want to tell the Pope you were forced into it? Am I right?"  


"No, no My Lord, you got me wrong." Relena was fast to say.  


Trowa made a sigh of relief,  


"You were the one that was forced, therefore you are to write the letter. And of course I'll say that you didn't want to marry me, you did so only for the King and now you want an annulment."  


"Me?" Came Trowa's loud response. "No!"  


"But you said!"  


Trowa cut her off. "I said I did not seek or want this marriage, but neither was I coerced into it. 'Twas done to please the king, though I am thinking 'twas even more of a sacrifice than I first suspected."  


Relena was taken aback, for she was sure he would go with the idea.  


"Well, then," Relena stammered. "There is one other way. We can go our separate ways and meet each other every once in a while to do.... To do what married people do..."  


"No." Trowa said very quietly.  


"Why not?" Relena asked.  


"Because you are my wife and you will live under my roof!!!" Trowa yelled.  


Relena stabbed the food in front of her, not wanting to talk to the stubborn man across from her.  


'Why doesn't he let me leave? Many married couples live in their own castles and only see each another to have heirs.' Relena thought. Not that she wanted to ever bed the Red Knight, even if she liked his kisses. At that moment she wished he was the food that she was stabbing in front of her.   


As the silence grew between them, Relena thought of what to do. She just had to try once more.  


"My Lord. ----" Relena tried again.  


"No." Trowa cut her off before she said anything else.  


"But---!"   


"NO!"   


"Fine!" Relena yelled throwing her napkin at the Red Knight. "If you're not going to let me talk, I'll just leave." And she stood up to do just that. She took one step towards the door, and stopped dead in her tracks. The dogs, alerted by Relena's sudden movements, were ready to jump if she took one more step. "Will you tell your dogs to sit?"  


"I will, I just wanted to say one more thing. You are my wife, whether you like it or not. I deny your requests for an annulment, and that's the end of it." Then he commanded his dogs to sit. "You are dismissed, My Lady Wife."  


Relena was furious, how dare he dismiss her like some common house maiden! She had given him a way out of this marriage and he wouldn't listen. Right now all she could do was walk out the door, if she did anything else the dogs would kill her. She just wished the dogs weren't there so she could do what she really wanted to do; tear out the Red Knight's eyes.   


On the other side of the door Wufei was waiting for her with a candle. He saw her to her room. 

As Relena walked through her door, Alyce threw her arms around her.  


"My lady, you're safe and whole!" Alyce said into Relena's shoulder.  


"Yes, yes of course I'm whole! I told you, the Red Knight does not eat people!! Now get away from me I want to be alone!" Relena said harshly.  


Alyce, hurt from the harshness of Relena's voice, started to cry.   


"I'm sorry Alyce." Relena, feeling bad about taking her anger out on Alyce, hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry. I'm not angry at you, I just had a long day and I'm tried. Go to your room. I'll be better in the morn."  


Alyce nodded her head and left.  


Alone, Relena sat on her bed with her face in her hands, thinking of what she was going to do. It was almost Christmas. She had always spent Christmas at her castle with her family. She just had to get back home. Then it hit her: Family. She could write to the Pope and tell him that the Red Knight and her are distant cousins and therefore their marriage would not be legal. And she wouldn't need the Red Knight's permission either. Relena smiled, changed into her night grown and went to bed. She would try to get paper and a quill on the morn and while she waited for the Pope's reply she would just keep busy by cleaning. She went to sleep with a smile on her face.  
  
*****  
  
On the morn Relena felt better, much much better. The best she felt since she found out that she was to marry.   


But Trowa on the other hand...   


Trowa was in a bad mood. Quatre was helping him dress for the morning.   


"Your Lady wife is out and about already, my lord." Quatre was telling him. "And it seems to me that the lady is in good sprits today."  


Trowa grumbled at what he heard. There was only one thing that he could think of that would make her that happy, and that was him not in her bed, _that_ was what was making her so happy.   


Trowa had not slept one wink of sleep last night. He just had thoughts of Relena all night long, how she felt for that brief moment that he held her in the church. He dreamed of her voice, it enticed him. When she wasn't yelling, her voice was soft and smooth. Smooth, just like honey. Honey, just like her kiss. That made him think again of their kiss on their wedding day. He remembered again of how she felt when she was pressed against him, her chest pressed tightly to his. Her lips tasting like the sweetest honey. Then when her lips melted into his he thought he would die. She had tasted so good and sweet. It made him hard just thinking about it, even now.   


"Trowa? Are you all right?" Quatre's concerned voice broke through Trowa's thoughts.  


"Yes, I am fine. I just didn't sleep well last night."  


"Lady Relena has requested another audience with you." Quatre said.  


"Meaning she demands to see me." Trowa said dryly. "Tell her I'll meet her for dinner."  


"Do you think this is the best way to do this?" Quatre asked.  


"No, it is not. But it is the way it will go." Trowa didn't know what to do. He knew that it would be the best for the both of them if he let her go, but something held him back. The memory of her presence across from him, filling the dark room with life. He clung to it, to her unplanned disruption of his lonely world, and he hesitated, for the first time since the battle he thought of something other than his..... Lord he didn't want to think of it right now.   


"Trowa, we've been friends for a long time, right?" Quatre asked.  


Trowa took a deep breath. He knew what Quatre was going to say, and he didn't like it, but Quatre was going to say what he wanted to say. "What is it you want to say?"  


"Well, it's about Lady Relena. What are you going to do with her now that she's your wife? Are you going to tell her about?"  


"Quatre." Trowa said quietly. "No one must know about it. I could not live if anyone knew."  


Quatre didn't say anything for a while, he helped Trowa button up his vest walking around the dogs to do so.  


"Well, then, if you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do?" The blonde man asked.  


Trowa leaned on the bedpost for support, putting his forehead against it with another deep sigh. "I don't know."  


"I think what is best for the both of you is to get an annulment."  


'Is that really the only answer?' Trowa thought. Relena had wanted an annulment, and then here was Quatre, who did not believe in it, saying it was best. 'What am I to do?'  


"No." Trowa said so softly that Quatre had to lean in to hear.  


"But I don't?"  


"NO." Trowa said more firmly. "She is my wife. She might not be the one I would have picked, but the only one I will get with this - this disfiguration -- she is my wife and that's that."  


"Trowa... it's not that bad."  


"That's enough, I will not talk about it!"   


"Yes, My Lord." Quatre finished his job and went to get Trowa's breakfast.  


With Quatre gone, Trowa sat on his bed. He didn't like yelling at Quatre; he was like a brother to him and Quatre was only concerned for him. But Relena was his wife, a part of his family now, and family was very important to Trowa.   


Relena. Trowa just wished he could get her out of his head for just an hour to clear his thoughts. But it was no use, the harder he tried, the more she stayed in his thoughts. Then Trowa remembered once again of Relena and their one kiss. Lord this marriage was going to be hell. 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Relena couldn't take this anymore. It had been only a few days since her marriage to Trowa but nothing went the way she wanted them to. She had Wufei breathing down her neck, she had a husband who loved the darkness more than the light and never stepped out of his rooms. The cook and guards wouldn't talk to her anymore. Alyce was starting to lose her fear of the castle, but only a little, and it didn't help that Quatre kept popping out of nowhere all the time. Relena just didn't know what to do! 

Relena looked around her at the great hall. She and Alyce had worked so hard to get it clean and it looked like they had done nothing at all. It got dustier faster then they could clean. It all looked like one big disaster. What they needed were some maids to help around the castle. She had tried to talk the Red Knight into letting some of the villagers come to work, but all her trying was in vain. His answer was always "No". No, villagers don't work at the castle. No, she wasn't allowed out of the castle. No, she couldn't write to anyone. "No" to everything!   
Without being able to write she couldn't find out what was happening to Peacecraft castle, nor write to the Pope so she could get the annulment she so desperately wanted. 

Well, Relena was a Peacecraft and a Peacecraft never gave up. She was going to keep trying 'till The Red Knight said yes. To anything! 

She always ate with The Red Knight at dinner, she'd try again then. 

***** 

"No" 

"Why not?" Relena asked. 

"Because townspeople cannot come here." 

"You said that already and I want to know why not." 

"Because I said so." Trowa said in a quiet voice. 

"Well that is not good enough for me." 

"I do not want people walking around in my castle. That is why." Trowa said trying to keep his cool. 

"You won't _have_ a castle if you don't take care of it. It's going to crumble right round you." 

"Don't worry, I have help who work on the castle so it'll not crumble." 

Help? Relena had not seen any people working on the castle. 'He lies,' Relena thought. ' 'Tis but a trick to shut me up.' Then the most absurd thought entered her mind, of little devils and demons working on the castle at night. 

Relena shook her head to clear it. 

"Fine. If you won't care for you own castle, let me write to my steward so I can take care of mine." 

"No." Trowa said flatly. 

Relena wanted to strangle him! "And what is the reason for this nay say? It's just my steward, I don't see the harm in that." 

"How do I know you're not writing to a lover with a plan to leave?" 

"How dare you!! You have insulted me too far. How dare you accuse your own Christian wife of having a lover!!" 

"You mean my Christian wife who wants an annulment?" 

To keep herself from jumping at Trowa, Relena gripped the chair as tight as she could. 

"And how do I know if you have not a lover," Trowa continued to taunt "'tis not like I know if you're a virgin." 

'How dare he!' Relena thought. She did feel a little guilty for what she was doing. No, she was not writing to a lover. But she had been planning on sending her letter for the Pope to her steward so he could send it to the Pope himself. Relena didn't know how long her patience would last. She tried demanding, she tried begging and now she was going to try something only her sex could do. She started to cry. 

"I don't know why you would say such a thing." Relena cried. "All I was trying to do was find out about my home. I'm so worried..." 

Trowa, was so shocked, he didn't say a thing. 

"And all I wanted to do was to get some help so I can make a place in this castle for myself." 

when Relena started to cry it was only fake tears, but now real tears started to come out, and once they started she couldn't stop them. 

"It's just so dusty and cold.... an... and dark. That's no place for me." Relena didn't know what 

she was saying anymore, it just came out. "All I wanted was to go outside in the sunlight and have some help cleaning but you denied me everything I want! I'm not allowed outside, I can't write to anyone I know and I can't get help to make YOUR castle look better!" 

Relena took a deep breath but it did nothing to calm her, she just kept crying. 

"Alright, Wufei will escort you to the village on the morrow." Trowa said in defeat. "But you are still not allowed to send any letters. And once a week you can go out to ride your horse but only for one hour and only with an escort." he said firmly. 

Relena didn't mind. She won this battle, she had won two battles in fact, and she was able to go outside and could have help. She was sure she would win the other battle in time too. 

"Oh thank you!" Relena cried with joy. Relena jumped up, hugged Trowa and gave him a kiss on the mouth. 

She didn't know who was more shocked, The Red Knight or herself, but neither of them stopped the kiss. Trowa was about to take the kiss deeper when Relena yelled in pain. One of his dogs, thinking she was trying to hurt him, bit her. He hit the dog over the nose before he turned to Relena. She was already halfway out the door. 

"I'll...... I'm going to clean this." Relena said holding out her hurt hand. Then she was gone. 

***** 

That Night Trowa couldn't sleep, he kept remembering how Relena's rosy lips felt. Oh how he cursed his demon dog for biting her and ending the kiss. He never expected her to hug and then kiss him full on the lips. He didn't think letting her go to the village was so important to her. It made her so happy. 

But the thought of Relena's lips and happiness was only half of the reason why he couldn't sleep. The other reason was he knew that in the morrow she will learn of his little joke, and her happiness will turn to hatred. But he said she could go and there was no stopping her now, she would hate him if he went back on his word. He was a dead man ether way he looked at it. 

***** 

Relena was so mad that she stormed into Baron Barton's bedroom. "You!!" Relena didn't care what the big dog's did, she was mad and she was going to show it. But Relena was taken aback when she saw in the dim room that the dogs were not there. 

Trowa knew that Relena was going to be mad when she came back and decided to not have Killer and Satan in the room then she come back from the village. 

Relena walked right up to Trowa and demanded: "Why?!" 

"'Why' what?" Trowa knew full well what she was talking about but he thought it best not to seem like he did. 

"You know what I'm talking about. Wufei told me afterwards what a funny joke you played on me. If the villagers didn't fear you so, they might have stoned me to death for just saying your name. And the stories they told Alyce..." Relena closed her eyes with the memory of those stories. They were going to give her nightmares for a month. One in particular, it was a story of a young girl; she couldn't have been more then nine years old. She had gone all by herself to Dark Castle, soon after The Red Knight had came home and kicked everyone out. She had gone, just out of curiosity. When night came around and the girl hadn't returned home, her mother was worried sick. That night the villagers looked all over but they couldn't find her. The next day they found the child. She was found by the side of the road. Wolves had eaten the little girl. The look on the girl's face was one of surprise and fear. Everyone who saw her was horrified. Since then, no one's ever gone to the castle. It was said that if you did, the Red Knight would call upon his wolves from hell, to hunt you down. Relena shivered once more at just the thought of the story. Relena could just imagine what a story like that could do to poor Alyce. Relena bet that Alyce was going to sleep in her rooms again tonight. "Why do you let them fear you? Why do you not ride out and show them that you're not a monster but a man? I tried to tell them but they don't listen. The tales they tell..." Relena shuddered. 

"How do you know they are just tales?" Trowa asked. 

"Why do you like to be alone?" was all she could say. 

"My legend is well known to all. I can not help it if they fear me." Trowa said sadly. 

"But why?" Relena asked not understanding. "Why do you want your villagers to fear you?" 

"It's better then them being disgusted with me." Trowa said in so low a voice that Relena had to lean in to hear. Relena felt pity for him, till his next words. 

"I knew you wouldn't listen to me, and you never stopped with your complaints. So you see now why I didn't want you to go to the village." 

"That's right, you bastard, how could you send me to the village without any warning?" 

"Would you have believed me?" 

He was right, she wouldn't have believed him, but she didn't want to admit that. 

"Yes, I would have." Relena lied. "That Wufei was no help as an escort, all he did was laugh at me and Alyce. When we left he said things like: 'the Lord has not lost his humor'. I was humiliated." 

Relena couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "Why do you hate me so much?" 

Trowa, with a deep sigh, replied, "I don't hate you." 

"Well, you don't act like you like me. You knew what was going to happen in that village and the times when you just said "No" and didn't tell me why. You could have warned me a little so that I wouldn't have brought Alyce along. The villagers sacred her within an inch of her life! I had to drag her back to the castles after she heard those tales. That was the meanest thing you could have done to me. Alyce is my friend and it's my fault that she is afraid! 'Tis all my fault..." 

Relena repeated the last part over and over again. 

Trowa didn't know what to do so he put his arms around her and just held her. 

Relena, feeling the embrace, sank deeply into it. After some time passed Relena stopped crying, and she realized where she was and who's arms she was in. 

"I think I had better get going," Relena said trying to get up. 

But Trowa wouldn't let her go. He put his face between her neck and shoulder. "Why am I so attracted to you?" 

Relena didn't have an answer for Trowa's question. She moved her head to look at Trowa but he moved his head at the same time and their lips met. He tastes so good Relena thought, she decided that she liked Trowa's kisses, and being in his arms. Trowa hands want up to Relena's hair, and started to pull out the pins holding it up. With Relena's hair down and loose, he buried his hand in it, holding her head in place as he deepened the kiss. 

Neither of them heard the door open but they did heard Wufei talking. 

"Trowa I have the papers on.... the... I'm sorry," he said with a bow. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go." 

Relena jumped out of Trowa's arms. "It's okay, I was just leaving." Relena ran out of the room, she didn't stop when she heard Trowa call out her name. 

When Relena's footsteps couldn't be heard anymore, Wufei turned to Trowa. "I'm sorry, I thought that she had left, for I didn't hear any shouting." 

Trowa took a calming breath but it didn't help. "You will knock the next time you want to enter my rooms." 

"Trowa?" 

"And you well act nicer around my wife. For she is my wife and will _be_ my wife 'till I die. Now get out." 

Wufei just nodded. He wasn't sure if he understood. All he knew was that Trowa had changed and that girl was to blame.  
  
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Authors note  
Sorry!!! ::goes down on knees:: I'm so sorry it took this long to update. School and my job are the devil -_-. I'm also sorry for the short, not well written chapter. I'll try to make the next one longer and better. ::crosses fingers and mutters "I hope I hope I hope":: I'll be introducing Duo in the next chapter ^_^ -_- Sorry again   
The kushinada 


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